Category: General
amaWaka Waka
A term used in South African high schools—coined by the Matric Class of 2024—to refer to students born in 2010 during the FIFA World Cup hosted in South Africa. The nickname comes from the tournament’s official anthem, “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)” by Shakira. It’s commonly used to refer to Grade 8 learners of 2024, most of whom were born that year.
Eish, amaWaka Waka were making noise while we were writing.
Ama2000
Anyone born from the year 2000 to 2009. The other word for AMA2000 is AMA2K
Someone saying something about a 2K/2000: “Ama2000 don’t know their home languages.” or “Ama2K love listening to amapiano.”
Bafana Maths
Bafana Maths refers to the calculations Bafana Bafana usually does before qualifying for a major tournament. It usually entails “if team A wins, team B draws, and we win by so many goals, then we qualify”
We need Nigeria to beat Benin and we beat Rwanda, then we’ll qualify for the World Cup. My Bafana Maths is on point now.
Thobela
Thobela will be "Be obedient" in IsiXhosa
Thobela abase magunyeni
Be obedient to authorities
Pronunciation:
Umgxobhozo
Umgxobhozo yindawo echifichifi ngenxa yodaka namanzi, emva kokuba kunethe imvula ngamandla.
In English umgxobhozo is a swamp.
Ngenxa yokuqhuba amatakane, uyise kaThando uthe dyumpu emgxobhozweni.
uTaka
Xhosa term for sleeping over at a boyfriend/girlfriend's place.
Umntu wakhe uthe makatake iweekend yonke.
Her partner asked her to sleep over for the whole weekend.
Tsotsi taal
Township meaning for slang whose direct translation means 'gangster language' 'taal' being the Afrikaans word for language. A huge contribution to this type of slang stem from South African prisons.
He came back from Pollsmoor speaking Tsotsi taal.
Lord Kambala Day
Lord Kambala Day in South African football circles refers to September 5, 2020, a day etched in PSL (Premier Soccer League) history when Manuel 'Lord’ Kambala, playing for Baroka FC, scored a crucial equalizer against Kaizer Chiefs. That goal denied Chiefs the league title on the final day of the 2019/20 season, handing the championship to Mamelodi Sundowns instead. This singular moment earned Kambala the nickname "Lord Kambala" and immortalized his contribution to South African football lore.
Happy Lord Kambala Day, everyone 🎉